Silicon Valley Wire

White House Announces Plans to Strengthen Nation's Cyber Security

Washington, DC -- Calling this "a transformational moment" for the U.S., President Obama on Friday announced plans to significantly beef up the nation's cyber security, starting with the appointment of a new cyber czar, who he expects to name in the coming weeks. "In short, America's economic prosperity in the 21st century will depend on cybersecurity," said Obama. "It's now clear this cyber threat is one of the most serious economic and national security challenges we face as a nation. It's also clear that we're not as prepared as we should be, as a government or as a country." The remarks followed a 60-day review of the nation's communications and information infrastructure by the National Security Council and Homeland Security Council. Among the findings were the need for better government leadership, as well as expanded partnerships between the government and private sector and the development of an information sharing framework to improve incident response.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/CyberReview/
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-by-the-President-on-Securing-Our-Nations-Cyber-Infrastructure/
http://www.whitehouse.gov/assets/documents/Cyberspace_Policy_Review_final.pdf (PDF)

EFF Launches "Teaching Copyright" Curriculum, Web Site

San Francisco -- The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), a digital civil liberties advocacy group based in San Francisco, said that it has launched a new "Teaching Copyright" curriculum and web site. Responding to educational campaigns from copyright interests, the EFF said that its goal is "to help educators give students the real story about their digital rights and responsibilities on the Internet and beyond." "Kids are bombarded with messages that using new technology is illegal," said the EFF's Richard Esguerra. "Instead of approaching the issues from a position of fear, Teaching Copyright encourages inquiry and greater understanding. This is a balanced curriculum, asking students to think about their role in the online world and to make informed choices about their behavior."
http://www.teachingcopyright.org
http://www.eff.org/press/archives/2009/05/27 

Facebook Names Winners of App Funding Contest

Palo Alto, Calif. -- Social networking giant Facebook has announced the 20 applications that will receive investments through its fbFund program, with winning developers landing about $25,000 each and participating in a 10-week incubation program in Palo Alto, where the company is based. Facebook also will take up to a 5% stake in each venture. The company created its $10 million fbFund in conjunction with Accel Partners and Founders Fund. Winners include dating application Frintro; avatar-based social networking app Funji; Gameyola, a monetization platform for Flash games; digital media sharing app Photos I Like; and non-profit microlending app Vittana. The complete list of winners is available at the link below.
http://developers.facebook.com/news.php?blog=1&story=249

Google to Introduce "Wave" Web Communication Platform

Mountain View, Calif. -- Google said that it plans to launch a new tool combining email, chat and content-sharing in a single interface. The Mountain View-based company called the platform, to be known as Google Wave, "equal parts conversation and document, where people can communicate and work together with richly formatted text, photos, videos, maps and more." One feature highlighted in numerous press reports has been Wave's real-time display, including the ability to see participants in a conversation adding their comments character-by-character. The service still is in the relatively early stages of development, with the company planning to open Wave's APIs to developers on Friday, according to TechCrunch. Google said that it does not have a specific timeframe for public release of the product.
http://wave.google.com
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/05/went-walkabout-brought-back-google-wave.html
http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/05/28/google-wave-drips-with-ambition-can-it-fulfill-googles-grand-web-vision/

Redwood Shores-Based GreenRoad Raises $15 Million in Funding

Redwood Shores, Calif. -- GreenRoad, a Redwood Shores-based developer of technology designed to improve driving behavior, said on Thursday that it has raised $15 million in a new round of funding, led by DAG Ventures. Previous investors Benchmark Capital, Virgin Green Fund, Amadeus Capital and Balderton Capital also participated. "This investment of capital will enable GreenRoad to accelerate its expansion with fleet customers and partners," said CEO Dan Steere. GreenRoad's automated service integrates real-time, in-vehicle feedback with coaching, reporting and risk analysis tools to help drivers improve their performance on the road.
http://www.greenroad.com
http://www.greenroad.com/press-releases/pr-52809.html

Redwood City-Based Trilliant to Acquire Santa Clara's SkyPilot Networks

Redwood City, Calif. -- Trilliant, a Redwood City-based developer of hardware, software and services used by utilities to deliver advanced metering and smart energy grids, said on Thursday that it has acquired Santa Clara-based SkyPilot Networks, a maker of long-range wireless mesh broadband equipment. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Andy White, the president and CEO of Trilliant, said that the acquisition will allow his company to offer utility clients "high-speed functionality at a reasonable cost, regardless of geography and topology." Nine-year-old SkyPilot currently has more than 500 customers, including utilities, wireless Internet service providers and municipal agencies. \
http://www.trilliantinc.com
http://www.trilliantinc.com/5_Nws/_PR/05-28-09.html

Time Warner to Spin Off AOL by Year's End

New York -- Marking what may be the final chapter in a business relationship that never delivered on its initial promise, media giant Time Warner announced on Thursday that it will spin off AOL into an independent, publicly traded company. The move is expected to be completed by the end of this year, with Time Warner also buying back a 5% stake in AOL that it previously had sold to Mountain View-based Google. "We believe that a separation will be the best outcome for both Time Warner and AOL," said Jeff Bewkes, the chairman and CEO of Time Warner. AOL will continue to run its advertising and Internet content businesses, as well as its trademark dial-up Internet access service, which still counts around 6.3 million subscribers. Calling the move "a great opportunity for AOL, our employees and our partners," AOL Chairman and CEO Tim Armstrong, a former executive at Google, said that becoming a standalone company "positions AOL to strengthen its core businesses, deliver new and innovative products and services and enhance our strategic options." The news comes eight years after the two companies completed a ballyhooed $147 billion merger that they promised would reshape the media landscape. The deal, however, quickly lost its luster, with AOL losing the bulk of its dial-up subscribers -- which once numbered 26.7 million -- to faster broadband connections. The combined company has since been forced to write down million of dollars to account for the declining value of AOL's assets.
http://corp.aol.com/press-releases/2009/05/time-warner-inc-announces-plan-separate-aol

Report: Head of Yahoo's Video Division to Resign

Sunnyvale, Calif. -- In the wake of major layoffs at Sunnyvale-based Yahoo's video division, Satish Menon, vice president of the company's consumer platforms group, is planning to step down, the blog NewTeeVee reported. Menon told NewTeeVee that he plans to embark on a project that will "introduce community into online education using online social tools." "Time for a change," Menon said. "I am going to apply everything I have learned last 25 years or so to see if we can reinvent education... especially online education."
http://newteevee.com/2009/05/26/head-of-yahoo-video-division-to-leave/  

Blockbuster to Test Online Video Game Rental Service

Dallas -- Looking to ramp up the competition against chief rival Netflix, video rental giant Blockbuster said that it will launch a pilot program of its planned online video game rental service on June 30 in the Cleveland, Ohio area, before expanding nationwide before the end of the year. "This pilot allows us to test a variety of implementation details and gather invaluable key learnings and consumer insights before finalizing and launching a national online game rental offering," said Bob Barr, the vice president and general manager of Blockbuster.com. The test will be open to existing subscribers of Blockbuster's online movie rental service, and will allow customers to add Wii, PS2, PS3 and Xbox 360 games to their rental queues for an incremental monthly fee.
http://www.blockbuster.com
http://news.prnewswire.com/DisplayReleaseContent.aspx?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/05-27-2009/0005033035&EDATE=

Livermore-Based UltraCell Lands $3.8 Million in New Funding

 Livermore, Calif. -- UltraCell, a Livermore-based maker of fuel cells for mobile devices, said that it has raised $3.8 million in a new round of funding, which the company plans to use to expand production at its Ohio manufacturing facility. Previous investors BASF Venture Capital, OnPoint Technologies, Espirito Santo Ventures and Miami Valley Venture Fund participated in the round, which increased the company's backing to $30 million since its founding in 2002. UltraCell also plans to use a portion of the new funds to expand sales, marketing and field trial testing of its flagship product, the UltraCell XX25 portable fuel cell, which is designed to run a ruggedized laptop computer for up to eight hours on a single cartridge. "Our founding vision was to bring fuel cells out of the labs and into mass manufacturing -- and we're thrilled to be succeeding in this goal," said UltraCell CEO Keith Scott. "This new funding will help us expand our market presence significantly."
http://www.ultracellpower.com/
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/UltraCell-Adds-38-Million-in-iw-15344431.html

San Jose-Based ActiveVideo to Acquire Avinity Systems

San Jose, Calif. -- In a marriage of interactive TV platform developers, San Jose-based ActiveVideo Networks said on Wednesday that it will acquire Netherlands-based Avinity Systems for an undisclosed sum. ActiveVideo said that the deal, combining companies that by the end of 2009 will have deployed interactive services to more than five million homes worldwide, will strengthen its technology and application offerings. "The two companies were pursuing the same vision on different continents," said Gary Lauder, the chairman of ActiveVideo Networks. "Fortunately, their strengths and technological assets are very complementary." Lauder said that all employees from both companies are expected to be retained. Once the deal is completed, ActiveVideo will have deployments with service providers such as Oceanic Time Warner Cable and Grande Communications in the U.S., Tele2 and Reggefiber in Europe and PCCW in Hong Kong.
http://www.activevideo.com/
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/ActiveVideo-Networks-Acquires-prnews-15353592.html?.v=1

Redwood City-Based Good Technology Acquires Intercasting

Redwood City, Calif. -- Good Technology, a developer of mobile messaging software formerly known as Visto, said on Wednesday that it has acquired Intercasting, a San Diego-based developer of social networking connectivity technology. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Good said that the addition of Intercasting's Anthem platform will allow it to extend its reach beyond the smartphone market, enabling a "smartphone" experience for the billion-plus feature phones currently in use. Carriers currently using platform include Alltel, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless and Virgin Mobile USA. The deal comes nearly three months after Visto completed its acquisition of Sunnyvale-based Good Technology from owner Motorola. The combined company retained the Good Technology name.
http://www.good.com/
http://www.good.com/corp/int_news.php?id=pr_090527

Twitter Teams with Production Companies on Reality TV Series

San Francisco - Twitter, the popular San Francisco-based microblogging service, has partnered with production companies Reveille and Brillstein Entertainment to develop a reality TV series that will "put ordinary people on the trail of celebrities in a revolutionary competitive format," Variety reported. "We've found a compelling way to bring the immediacy of Twitter to life on TV," Brillstein Entertainment's Jon Liebman told Variety. Additional details were not provided for the series, which reportedly was conceived by novelist and screenwriter Amy Ephron ("A Cup of Tea").
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118004136.html